Post-Game Talk: Pens Ducks Halloween horror show

[canadianguy77]

Even if he’s productive at the AHL level, it’s a slower game there, and you generally can’t go through the training you need to improve speed until the offseason.

He’s 20. At that age, you’re about as fast as you’re going to get as far as top-speed goes. The emphasis on his skating in regards to training should’ve happened many years ago. There isn’t much that can be done about that now. I don’t think his skating was that big of a deal. He’s at least NHL average in that regard.

He reads plays well enough so the intelligence is there. His biggest focus should be on getting stronger without losing anything with his skating. He was getting outmuscled along the walls enough where you could tell he didn't yet have the strength for this league.

 

[Gurglesons]

It wouldn’t be if he isn’t NHL ready, which he didn’t appear to be.

This is the mindset that has resulted in us producing one NHL player from our drafts recently.

 

[PenguinSuitedUp]

This is the mindset that has resulted in us producing one NHL player from our drafts recently.

Not having enough quality picks to develop the pipeline is what has led to us not producing any recent prospects. You can’t develop a pipeline if you aren’t building one.

He’s 20. At that age, you’re about as fast as you’re going to get as far as top-speed goes. The emphasis on his skating in regards to training should’ve happened many years ago. There isn’t much that can be done about that now. I don’t think his skating was that big of a deal. He’s at least NHL average in that regard.

He reads plays well enough so the intelligence is there. His biggest focus should be on getting stronger without losing anything with his skating. He was getting outmuscled along the walls enough where you could tell he didn't yet have the strength for this league.

He can actually improve his skating. Plenty of players have at his age.

 

[Gurglesons]

Not having enough quality picks to develop the pipeline is what has led to us not producing any recent prospects. You can’t develop a pipeline if you aren’t building one.

You play players in the NHL when you have a core group as good as ours in terms of providing experience.

Keeping McG in the AHL for two years makes absolutely no sense. He’s a top prospect in the league. You leverage the fact he can be with a HHOF center like Malkin or Sid for a few weeks. That will be exponentially more beneficial to his development then traveling on Greyhounds in the A with Emil Bemstrom.

He’s also going to be 21 in March. That basically gives him two years to prove he’s the level of prospect we think he is before bust talk starts entering the talk.

I’d honestly argue dropping McG to the A was more detrimental to his development then keeping him up in 10-12 minutes at the NHL would have been. This isn’t a Yager situation. This is a situation where he left a great situation in the NCAA to prove he was NHL ready. He did it in the pre-season and then our moronic coach cut him in three games where he looked “okay”.